The January Feast
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Above, from left to right: Detail of the January calendar page from The Hours of Jeanne d’??vreux, ca. 1324???28; detail of the activity for the month of January from The Belles Heures of Jean de France, Duc de Berry, 1405???1408/1409; Ewer with Wild Man Finial (detail), late 15th century, German, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, The Cloisters Collection, 1953 (53.20.2).
In the Middle Ages, the?? Christian liturgical year, and not the old Roman calendar, determined the date on which the new year began. The date used differed depending on the??period and locale, and coincided with either the Nativity on December 25 or the Annunciation on March 25. However, throughout the Middle Ages, the ancient Roman tradition of January festivities in celebration of the New Year continued unabated. Banquets and gifts were given, and folk rites intended to ensure good fortune and plenty and to stave off disaster and want were performed. The Church discouraged such practices, but found the celebration of the New Year more difficult to suppress than any other calendar tradition inherited from pagan antiquity. Read more »